Stocks May Show A Lack Of Direction In Early Trading - U.S. Commentary

(RTTNews) - Following the rebound seen last week, stocks may show a lack of direction in early trading on Monday. The major index futures are currently pointing to a roughly flat open for the markets, with the Dow futures down by just 3 points.

The lack of momentum for the markets comes as traders may sit on the sidelines on the heels of the volatility seen over the past few weeks.

The Thanksgiving Day holiday on Thursday and the unofficial Black Friday holiday may also keep some traders away from their desks.

Nonetheless, traders will be presented with a slew of U.S. economic data in the holiday-shortened week, including reports on new home sales, durable goods orders, and personal income and spending.

The National Association of Realtors is scheduled to release its report on existing home sales in the month of October shortly after the start of trading.

Economists expect existing home sales to dip to an annual rate of 5.40 million in October after jumping to a rate of 5.55 million in September.

After moving notably higher in early trading on Friday, stocks gave back some ground as the day progressed but remained mostly positive. With the higher close, the major averages added to the strong gains posted last Monday and Wednesday.

The major averages ended the day firmly in positive territory but well off their best levels of the day. The Dow climbed 91.06 points or 0.5 percent to 17,823.81, the Nasdaq advanced 31.28 points or 0.6 percent to 5,104.92 and the S&P 500 rose 7.93 points or 0.4 percent to 2,089.17.

For the week, the major averages all moved notably higher, nearly offsetting the sharp pullback seen in the previous week. The Nasdaq surged up by 3.6 percent, while the Dow and the S&P 500 jumped by 3.4 percent and 3.3 percent, respectively.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance during trading on Monday. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell by 0.4 percent, while Australia's All Ordinaries Index rose by 0.4 percent. The Japanese markets were closed for a holiday.

Meanwhile, the major European markets have all moved to the downside on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index has fallen by 0.7 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index and the German DAX Index are down by 0.4 percent and 0.3 percent, respectively.

In commodities trading, crude oil futures for January delivery are slipping $0.24 to $41.66 a barrel after rising $0.18 percent to $41.90 a barrel in the week ended November 20th. Gold futures, which fell $4.60 to $1,076.30 an ounce last week, are sliding $6.30 to $1,070 an ounce.

Among currencies, the dollar advanced against most currencies last week, rising 0.2 percent against the yen before ending the week at 122.81 yen and rallying 1.2 percent against the euro to $1.0646. The U.S. dollar is currently trading at 123.16 yen and is valued at $1.0629 versus the euro.